It Could Be Worse
by Konstantinsen
Summary: Dexter has finally ascended to better places. With a world-class team under him and a groundbreaking project in his sights, how anything go wrong? Well, Dee Dee, basically.


**NOTE: I was going down memory lane today.**

* * *

Dexter pressed the button, waited, and scowled. He pressed the other buttons and got the same nothing. He pulled down his tie even though his collar was draping loosely off his neck.

"Sir?" his subordinate asked.

"Troubleshoot. This again confirms there is a defect in the machinery," he ordered.

"Yes, sir."

Dexter walked halfway across the control room to the window panes. Down below was the cooling system for the reactor that was built to run the new experimental particle device. Having spent months on this project with a team of the world's best scientists and engineers, he was confident that this renovation of CERN's existing technology would revolutionize many fields of science.

Then again, he had to prove it. And this unresponsive hulk of conglomerated metal and wires was frustrating every effort. Then again, it could have been worse...

An aide appeared by the door. "Sir, you have a visitor. She's very insistent on seeing you."

"Oh, great," Dexter sighed.

* * *

"Hello, little brother!"

"Hey, Dee Dee."

"How are you doing? It's been a while!" Dee squealed, wrapping herself around one of CERN's leading innovators. "You've been getting my e-mails, right?"

"Dee...you're suffocating me..."

"Aw, come on, don't ruin the fun! We haven't seen in each other in, what, five years?"

"No, seriously...I can't breathe..."

Dee let go. "Oh, sorry! You okay?"

Dexter cleared his throat. It took him awhile to refill his lungs. At least he was healthy enough to be spared an inhaler. "Yeah, yeah... I'm fine. How are you?"

"Really?" Dee snickered. "Is that all you're going to say? After all this time?"

Dexter smiled. "Yes, my dear sister. That is all I have to say."

The lobby of Reactor 7A was empty save for the receptionist and an idle janitor. The idle atmosphere was Dee's playground and she was quick to exploit the rather dull afternoon in this clinically sterilized environment.

"Oh, come on, now. If you won't make my visit worth while, I will. Why, if I meander over here and—" She eyed the card console on the door that led directly into Reactor 7A. "Oh, what does this button do?"

"Deeeeeeee..." Dexter drawled, dragging himself over to her.

Though he was now taller, he was still just as lanky as his sister. And even then, he was too exhausted from troubleshooting that mess of a cooling system to even bother. He pulled out his card and swiped it at the console. Then he pushed the door and gestured down the hall.

"Just keep your hands to yourself. And ask permission, next time, okay?"

"Seriously? I was just joking. Guess CERN really drains the humor from you," Dee remarked, cautiously but elatedly striding down the corridor. "Hey, you remember that device you assembled back then? When you had that lab of yours in our basement?"

"Which one?" Dexter asked, following tiredly behind.

"The one that...duplicated us? Was it?"

"Which one?"

"Where mom had to wash us up with soap or something?"

Dexter paused. Dee amusedly watched his face slowly light up until she could see that intellectual bulb flicker on above his mess of a ginger cut. "Oh, wait... I think I remember."

"We were arguing about who was rude and who wasn't." She then laughed. "And then, I kicked you into the machine! Hah!"

This time, he laughed, now beaming. "Yeah, yeah. I remember! The Rude, uh... Rutabaga? No, the Rude something. Hah, I scrapped that one. That was bad. Really bad."

"It wasn't that bad. I mean, the damage done you almost always get undone."

"It took a lot of work though and that was not fun." Dexter snickered. "Hey, how's Mandark?"

Dee frowned. "Don't. Even."

Dexter chortled. "Hey, he means well. Besides, I can't be the only genius in the family."

"Oh, very funny. Ha. Ha. If you're asking for a compliment on his behalf, at least he's smart." She glanced at the glass panes and marveled at the agglomeration of exposed working gadgetry currently being tended to by a pair of white-suited inspectors. "Whoa... This is..."

"Yeah, I haven't been writing back for a reason."

Dexter folded his arms pridefully, seeing Dee drool at the project that would soon transform science. He felt a nudge on his arm. One of his aides tried to be discreet but he clearly looked nervous. "Um, sir, you do know that this is skirting protocol, right?"

He shrugged. "I know. I'm tired. Who checks?"

The aide shrugged. "I guess you're right, sir. She a friend of yours?"

"Family."

"Oh."

Dee was now bouncing off the walls. She hopped over to him, with the rest of the console team now worriedly throwing glances her way.

"I am so proud of you, little brother!"

"Little brother?" the aide asked rather obtrusively.

Dexter sighed again. "Yes, yes. This is...a half a year of work, Dee. And I can't even get it to work right."

"Aw, really?"

"Yeah. Really. We've been troubleshooting, going around and above, in and under, and still can't get it to respond to the console properly. I was thinking of getting an IT team in here but the problem seems to be with the machinery than the commands."

"English, please."

"Can't get it to work, Dee."

Dee strolled to the main command console were the big red boxes glimmered under a lifted glass box. "You tried pushing all these?"

Dexter snickered. "We tried."

"Well, it could be worse."

"Cheerful as always," he muttered, turning away. It was just a moment. Dexter strolled to the end of the room and loomed over the terminal displaying the unresponsive fluctuations in the cooling system across the building.

"Uh, ma'am..."

"Sir, she's, uh..."

"Dee, what are you doing now?" he asked without checking.

Then everything seemed to come alive all at once. Red lights, blaring klaxons, and his team was now jumping around like scared monkeys freed from their cages.

"Sir! The system, it's..."

Dexter leaped off the board and snatched Dee away the main console. He saw all boxes now shimmering in full vibrant red light. "Dee, what did you do!?"

"I didn't...it was an accident! I didn't know..." she stuttered, clearly guilty and very afraid that she may have caused something serious.

"Check for a meltdown!" Dexter ordered, frantically readjusting the dials on the panels and checking again at the big red square buttons that Dee apparently sat on.

"Sir, there is no meltdown, it's..."

"What?"

"Sir, the system. It's on! It's working!"

He felt his jaw drop. "Are you...kidding me?"

"No, Dexter," Dee said, yanking him over to the terminals showing a mix of signs that only people like her brother could read. "That looks normal, right?"

Dexter gawked at the screen. He could not believe it. A member of the maintenance crew entered the room. "Sir! The reactor is working! We got it working! It's all good now!" He announced to the whole team's relief and elation.

"See, little brother," Dee shakily remarked.

Dexter stared at her and the system that supply power to Reactor 7A.

She shook his shoulders. "Hey. Don't feel bad. I mean, it could've been worse, right?"

"No shit."

* * *

 **NOTE: So I watched the banned episode of _Dexter's Laboratory_. It was hilarious. And it brought back memories of 1998. I'm sorry, I had to write this. I really do. I wanted to. So I did.**

 **I also may or may not edit this.**

* * *

 **ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: May 27, 2016**


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